Schumer: Trump budget would be "terrible," "huge mistake" for Capital Region, state

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, right, speaks at the home of Dan and Jennifer Jeram and their three children James, 5, second from right, Benjamin, 3, and Madeline, 6-mos.-old on Thursday, March 16, 2017 in Clifton Park, N.Y. Here Schumer is reassuring James after James asked the question "Is Donald Trump going to take our money." The senator is launching a push to preserve popular, but increasingly at-risk tax deductions Saratoga homeowners and taxpayers depend upon to keep Capital RegionOs cost of living in-check.( Lori Van Buren / Times Union) less

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, right, speaks at the home of Dan and Jennifer Jeram and their three children James, 5, second from right, Benjamin, 3, and Madeline, 6-mos.-old on Thursday, March ... more

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, right, speaks at the home of Jennifer and Dan Jeram and their three children on Thursday, March 16, 2017 in Clifton Park, N.Y. Standing at left are Dan Jeram and his 6-mos.-old daughter Madeline. The senator is launching a push to preserve popular, but increasingly at-risk tax deductions Saratoga homeowners and taxpayers depend upon to keep Capital RegionOs cost of living in-check.( Lori Van Buren / Times Union) less

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, right, speaks at the home of Jennifer and Dan Jeram and their three children on Thursday, March 16, 2017 in Clifton Park, N.Y. Standing at left are Dan Jeram and his ... more

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer speaks at the home of Jennifer and Dan Jeram and their three children on Thursday, March 16, 2017 in Clifton Park, N.Y. The senator is launching a push to preserve popular, but increasingly at-risk tax deductions Saratoga homeowners and taxpayers depend upon to keep Capital RegionOs cost of living in-check.( Lori Van Buren / Times Union) less

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer speaks at the home of Jennifer and Dan Jeram and their three children on Thursday, March 16, 2017 in Clifton Park, N.Y. The senator is launching a push to preserve ... more

Schumer: Trump budget would be "terrible," "huge mistake" for Capital Region, state

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Albany

For months, researchers in the Capital Region and New York had been anxious about their federal funding. That worry turned to dread Thursday with the unveiling of President Donald Trump's proposed federal budget, which puts science and health research funding in its cross hairs.

The proposed 18 percent cut to National Institutes of Health funding outlined in the Trump proposal could be devastating to the Capital Region, where NIH grants to myriad colleges and businesses have helped spur rapid growth in the area's biotech sector. Last year, the region received $54 million of the $32 billion granted nationally by NIH. New York consistently ranks among the top states receiving research dollars.

The funding, if left intact, "could go a long way in fighting diseases and helping people live healthier lives, in addition to supporting many research jobs at our area's research institutions," said Andrew Kennedy, CEO of the Albany-based Center for Economic Growth, which works in concert with local colleges and universities.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said the cuts would "be a huge mistake" with "terrible" consequences for the state. "We're one of the centers of medical research," he said. "...It would be drastic, and it would also hurt our standard of living. Scientific research creates lots of good-paying jobs."

"Shrinking (NIH) can only mean less investment in basic research, fewer scientific breakthroughs and ultimately less access for patients to advanced therapies," said Nathan Tinker, executive director of NewYorkBIO. "In turn, dismantling publicly funded science and research will result in higher costs and fewer choices for consumers."

The proposal comes at a precarious time for New York's biotech sector, which has in recent years become a linchpin of state economic development plans. In December, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced two separate life sciences investments totaling more than $1 billion. But those initiatives could be thrown into disarray by the uncertain future of NIH dollars, Tinker said.

"The biopharma industry is incredibly risky, and investors need a sense of stability and proportion in order to make the huge dollar, long-term investments our life-saving products require," he said.

The rollbacks would help pay for an historic nine percent, $54 billion increase in defense spending and a $2.6 billion down payment on a border wall. The budget also takes a scalpel to environmental, community development and agriculture agency budgets, and eliminates federal funding for 19 agencies altogether.

In a statement Thursday, Cuomo blasted the overall budget as "dangerous, reckless, and contemptuous of American values."

"Enacting this bill would mark a fundamental transformation in what America stands for, and what role our country plays in the world. We have always maintained a strong military, but we have always offered the world more than arms," Cuomo said.

New York farmers, meanwhile, could be adversely affected by a proposed 21 percent cut to the United States Department of Agriculture budget. Officials were measuring the impacts of the $4.7 billion cut Thursday afternoon, but were sure of one thing: "There are a lot of unanswered questions. It's very vague," said Steve Ammerman, spokesman for the New York Farm Bureau and its 21,000 members. Funding for USDA's statistical operations could be affected, he said, at a detriment to the state's $3.5-billion-a-year agriculture sector. "That data is very important when it comes to the Farm Bill, and how that money is divvied up, what programs may be impacted," he said. "If it isn't accurate or not fully counted, New York would be impacted."

The proposal also cuts staff at USDA service agencies "to streamline county office operations" and "encourage private sector conservation planning," and eliminates the Water and Wastewater loan and grant program, shifting financing of rural water infrastructure to the private sector.